I assume u mean 192 n 170 r both outa china? I didnt know that n dont like it much at all. I didnt know any sthil chainsaw had anything to do with china. If i look on my 192 its gonna say "made in china"? IDK..its no 200T thats for sure buts its noticably lighter and I like climbn with it while trimn.
They have factories in USA, Germany, Switzerland, China and Brazil.
The first overseas plant was opened in 1973 and was in Brazil.
In 1974 Stihl moved chain production to Switzerland and opened the Virginia Beach plant in U.S.A.
China opened in 2006
http://www.stihl.com/isapi/default.asp?contenturl=/unternehmen/presse/tagespresse/499.htm
I understand they make the top model and most expensive saws in Germany, then the medium level saws in Germany and U.S.A. I have never heard for certain what comes out of the Brazil and China plants for certain. I did hear that the smaller engines and smaller consumer grade products are all built in China to save cost and be competitive. (If this is correct then this would possibly include their smallest saw the 170 and the 192 which is the same engine - although it would possibly also be items such as their hedge trimmers, etc)
In fact the press release states this "Almost exactly one year after the start of construction work, STIHL has opened its new factory in Qingdao, some 600 kilometers north of Shanghai. In taking this step the STIHL Group has expanded its worldwide production capacity for
the entry-level segment. "
This does not however tell anybody what products actually come out of that plant though. And they do say the quality is still maintained. Although I do know I had more issues with the one 170 that we had and the 192 than any other Stihl saws that were new (in fact they were the ONLY two models that as new saws had issues - older saws have had issues with the 200T for example needing a new carb after maybe 5 years of use). Other than those two saws, no other Stihl equipment (blower, kombi, polesaw, etc) has had issues when new. Does not mean anything definite, but suspicious.
